{ "item_title" : "People Like Us", "item_author" : [" Jason Mott "], "item_description" : "ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR--Time--Atlanta Journal-Constitution--Star Tribune (Minneapolis)--Library Journal--KirkusLonglisted for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in FictionFinalist for the Zora Neale Hurston Legacy Literary Fiction AwardFinalist for the Willie Morris Awards for Southern FictionFinalist for the BookTube Prize for FictionOne of TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2025One of USA Today's 15 Books You Should Read This SummerOne of Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Hot New Summer ReadsOne of People's Most Anticipated Summer BooksOne of Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025A Late Show Book Club pickThe riveting novel by the author of the National Book Award winner and bestseller Hell of a BookIn People Like Us, two Black writers are trying to find peace and belonging in a world riven with violence. One is on a global book tour after winning a big prize; the other is set to speak at a school that has suffered a tragedy. And as the authors' storylines merge, truths and antics abound in equal measure: from tiny French cars and melancholy winter hotel rooms, from humble family land to the wealthiest estates, this book asks us to witness people and their dreams enduring against all odds. You will meet larger-than-life characters who deliver very real takes on our world. They experience deep loss and longing; they are also buoyed by riotous humor and share the deepest love. It is the latest creation of a writer whose work will leave you breathless, filled with joy for life, and changed forever by characters who are people like us. ", "item_img_path" : "https://covers1.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/9/79/821/704/9798217047116_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "30.00", "online_price" : "30.00", "our_price" : "30.00", "club_price" : "30.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "30.00" } }

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Loosely related to the personal experiences of author Jason Mott—winner of the National Book Award for his bestselling novel Hell of a Book—People Like Us explores the stories of two Black authors, similarly accomplished, who traverse the U.S. and Europe on book tours. Throughout, the two men negotiate push-and-pull relationships with America amid racism, white supremacy and a swelling epidemic of gun violence. The first author, Soot, arrives at a university campus in freezing Minnesota for a speaking engagement. Painful memories constantly take Soot back to relive moments with his daughter, Mia, in their North Carolina hometown. In alternating chapters, the second author—narrating in the first person—lands in Milan at the request of an ultra-wealthy benefactor, and soon faces the difficult choice of whether to return to America or leave his home behind for good. “People like us” is both a title and watchword. When the phrase is spoken by characters, it’s sometimes questioned and sometimes implicitly understood, but always left undefined, its implications ever-expanding: Black Americans; all Americans of color; all people, globally, of color; all those affected by gun violence; all those affected by the injustices of the U.S. and our world; all those who care; and everyone, in their full humanity. Mott’s creative applications of the phrase lay bare the reality of racialized “othering,” while also revealing the extent to which community can be a source of comfort and hope. Much of the novel’s meaning is conveyed via characters or scenarios that are disturbingly hyperbolic (floating guns; an oddly friendly potential murderer). Sometimes what should be hyperbole feels all too real, as in the case of Soot arriving to speak about gun violence at the Minnesota university mere days after students’ lives are taken by guns. Somehow, amid the weightiness of the novel, Mott inserts just enough humor to bring each character alive. A book that begs for an immediate reread, People Like Us hits the soul hard. It is haunting, vivid literary fiction at its finest.